Tag Info

This is an odd question. The sentiment that the only security here is physical security is correct. Think about the following:
The Shimano Di2 components are not mated/matched to a specific computer or instance of E-Tube software. So there's no 1:1 relationship.
Therefore, any computer equipped with the SM-PCE1 or SM-BCR2 programming cables can be used to ...

Based on comparison with the Giant Defy Advanced line, it seems to mean that you can run an electronic drivetrain (such as Shimano Di2 parts) - you have to mount things like a battery in order for the shifters to work and what not, so the frame will need to have the wiring harnesses and battery pack mounted.
This link shows the TCR line in 2012 with this ...

Perhaps instead of password protecting it, you might want to think of ways you could detect that the device was tampered with. I'm not certain how often you would change settings or plug into it, but you may want to cover the port with security tape or something similar so that you are aware when somebody has been messing with the equipment. This may not be ...

According to BikeRadar, "The battery unit as well as the wiring for XTR Di2 are identical components to the ones used in Shimano's electronic road groups. The battery can be mounted on a bottle cage, in a seat tube, frame and can even be contained within the steerer unit of certain forks (via the use of PRO's new Tharsis components)."

You will obviously be able to get this from your trackpoints, but it can be useful (depending on the frequency of collection of trackpoints) to take speed - directly from your front wheel tacho if possible. This just gives you a higher degree of accuracy.
Other nice to haves:
accelerometer input - both fore-and-aft, and left-and-right - these can give a ...

Pressure sensor / altimeter.
http://www.meas-spec.com/pressure-sensors/board-level-pressure-sensors/altimeter-pressure-sensor-modules.aspx
The best one of their sensors can detect a change in elevation of 10 cm. I2C interface.
These are really great. Bosch makes a sensor with similar quality.
Of course the most interesting and most difficult to measure ...

Right now I am at 159 hours of riding time on the battery which came with my GSC-10.
Garmin's stated battery life for the GSC-10 is 1.4 years at one hour of riding per day which works out to 511 hours. (See page 51 of the Edge 500's Owner Manual)
On the interweb I've come across two different suspected causes for low battery life on the GSC-10:
Some ...

The main compartment of most handlebar bags waterproof when closed. Better models have pockets to keep passports dry. There are also plenty of models on the market that have padding for cameras and lenses.
The brand most synonymous with waterproofing is Ortlieb. They make handlebar bags and camera kit inserts for them. There are plenty of other makes on the ...

The simplest on-the-road solution is to get a detailed paper (walker's?) map with contour lines. In the UK, Ordnance Survey provide these, for the USA you could try Omnimap.
Alternatively, there are plenty of online tools, like freemaptools.com which use Google Maps. You click on a point and it gives you the elevation.

Barometric pressure is not the only feasible method to track altitude, but is by far the more practical in terms of power requirements (I have a watch that lasts 2 years on a battery with altitude), size and cost.
GPS Altitude is wildly inaccurate due to the geometry of the satellites. Unfortunately to cope with very small signal errors you need a ...

I've had my GSC 10 since 2008. I used to get about 1 to 2 months out of name brand CR2032 batteries, but have since switched to Harbor Freight batteries. I get about 4 to 6 weeks out of these (a four pack of these costs about the same as a single name brand battery). Like you said, it all depends on your riding habits and environment though. The above is ...

Curiously, I've been tinkering with GPS data analysis (taken from some multi-kilometer randonnees, gpx format).
Since you have the 4D trajectory (latitude, longidude, elevation and timestamp), you could theoretically get any derivative or combination of it. For example, currently I am calculating, for each pair of consecutive points in the trajectory:
...

Let me tell you from experience what doesn't work: Putting a cell phone in a the pocket of a "waterproof" jacket. I lost a phone that way, and another one saw the light at the end of a foggy, damp tunnel before returning back to life.
If you are able to, turn gadgets you are carrying off. Having electricity flow through the system just increases the ...

My solution to the problem is to grab my phone, record my biking trajectory with sports tracker (no data plan is needed) and get an estimation of the elevation (total number of meters uphill, and total number of meters downhill) with the help of GPS. For this you'll have to have:
a smart phone with a gps (android, apple ios, nokia, or microsoft phone)
...

If you have a bike with Shimano Di2, physical security should be paramount - I'm not sure why an unsavory person should even be physically near enough to the bike to be able to make those changes. And they'd have to be carrying the right cable and everything.
It seems like a highly implausible situation to occur, and certainly which should not occur ...

The edit from freiheit did change the question. He removed the word firmware.
I am a software developer and did system support for many years.
Including highly secure systems.
In my world firmware and software are not the same.
Software is compiled - firmware is a raw set of instructions to specific hardware.
Yes it is possible to password protect ...

My experience with the GSC10 (though with an Edge 305 not a 500) has been that the batteries last 6 to 12 months, or roughly 2500 to 5000 miles of riding. That works out to something like 125 to 250 hours of operation. That is considerably less than what is stated in the manual, but in the ballpark of what the other two answerers experienced.
The ...

I have quite thorough experience, the solution is like this:
Once I carried also a camera and 4 lens (one of them 500mm) this way...
When you go to tropical destinations, it is much harder because you also have to protect your electronics from condensated humidity. That's another story for another answer. Just ask if it's the case.

When I'm touring ("unloaded") I carry two moderate-sized panniers which end up being about half-full. In addition to rain gear in both, one contains snacks, my daily medications, and other odds and ends. The other mostly carries my full-sized camera, stuck in a large plastic bag if the weather is threatening. My phone (turned off) is in a small plastic ...